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Hi everyone,
My name is Carm, I'm a 4th year Computer Science major at RIT. I'm an intern for Ambrosia until the summer. My big job is going to be updating Coldstone (and in turn, PoG), so I'm gonna need bug reports so that I have some specific things to work on.
In the meantime I'll be surfing the webboards, beta list archives, and checking out the source code so I can catch up.
by the way, if anyone here as RealBasic experience or is interested in being in the beta list for Coldstone or PoG to help me out, let me know and I'll add you.
Thanks!
------------------ Carmelissa Valera/Intern/Ambrosia Software, Inc.
Quote
Originally posted by Carm: My big job is going to be updating Coldstone (and in turn, PoG), so I'm gonna need bug reports so that I have some specific things to work on.
A Most Hearty Welcome!! The web board member, Glenn, probably has the most complete list of PoG errors and I'm sure many others of us can provide additions to your work load. Please expect an email from me shortly. There are many here who I'm sure would like to help in any way possible to see this come about. You've taken on a monumental task. Good luck with it. ~RD
------------------ My Doctor said I was having too much wine, women, and song - so I gave up singing because 2 out of 3 is not so bad. The (url="http://"http://www.evula.org/rduck/")Kingdom of Garendall(/url) sectional map is easily printed from gif format pages. (url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/vftp/dl-redirect.pl/damsels.sit?path=pog/addons&file;=damselsV1.1.sit")Damsels in Distress(/url) - A plugin for PoG. (url="http://"http://www.evula.org/rduck/RD-DEL.jpg")RD-DEL(/url)
First item on your list: Spell Check Everything. Glenn will be along shortly with a better list.
------------------ They say that if you play a Windows Install CD backwords, you hear satanic messages. That's nothing; play it forward and it installs Windows. --thanks to TBobMac
Originally posted by Carm: by the way, if anyone here as RealBasic experience or is interested in being in the beta list for Coldstone or PoG to help me out, let me know and I'll add you.
I think I want to sign up for the PoG Beta, but I'd like to know a little more about what being a beta tester would mean before I commit myself. Since I have never beta tested anything before, I'm not sure what to expect.
Thanks,
Lit Nerd
------------------ "O For a Muse of Fire, that would ascend The brightest Heauen of Inuention: A Kingdome for a Stage, Princes to Act, And Monarchs to behold the swelling Scene." Henry V
Originally posted by Lit Nerd: I'd like to know a little more about what being a beta tester would mean before I commit myself.
Job Description: Play through many times always having one eye looking for typos, misspellings, inconsistencies, things that don't work (bugs), access problems (walking on top of trees or under rocks, etc.), and conflicts within game or with other plugins. Save often, back-tracking to check out all options in a dialogue box. Make notes or take screen shots to assist in locating the problems within the code.
In testing PoG or plugins for it, some knowledge of Coldstone is helpful but not necessary. Testing is time-consuming and sometimes dull work. Good testers do things out of the ordinary to see "what happens if . . . ." Expect the project to go on for several months. Rome wasn't built in a day, and niether was Garendall.
i suspect you could put beta versions up on the download page, adequately warn and instruct people and you would get lots of help. oh, and fix the fergus dialog box. i hate that "i would like to buy you food or potions" line...
------------------ "That which does not kill me makes me stronger." - Nietzsche
Originally posted by megah: **i suspect you could put beta versions up on the download page, adequately warn and instruct people and you would get lots of help. **
There are two forms of betas
Closed betas Description: Copies of the game are given to a select number of testers. These testers are either hired, appointed, or volunteers Pro: Doesn't spoil the game for casual gamers and creates suspense till it finally is out (like EVN). Con: Testing is generally slower because of the fewer testers
Open betas Description: Anybody can download a copy of the game and anybody can submit feedback Pro: Testing gets done much faster Con: Generally spoils the suspense of waiting for a game to be released. Also, some people will prefer a buggy beta which is free over a clean game with a price.
So yes, testing would be done faster. And since the game has already been released, there really isn't much suspense built up. Yet see the last con for open beta. This is really why the beta will likely remain closed. And since all feedback is sent to Carm (opposed to a company with hundreds of people reading feedback), Carm would probably be swamped with feedback that CS and PoG would never get reprogrammed!
------------------ Motion is impossible: If an archer fired an arrow at a target, it would have to travel halfway before reaching the target. To reach that distance, the arrow would first need to travel halfway. To reach that distance, the arrow would first need to travel halfway. To reach that distance, the arrow would first need to travel halfway. To reach that distance, the arrow would first need to travel halfway. To reach that distance, the arrow would first need to travel halfway...
Originally posted by Carm: **or is interested in being in the beta list for Coldstone or PoG to help me out, let me know and I'll add you. **
What would you be looking for? A well constructed résumé, a simple e-mail, or a quick "I'd like to test" post in this topic?
Originally posted by Rubber Ducky: **Good testers do things out of the ordinary to see "what happens if . . . ." **
I'm good at that!
------------------ Yet another meaningless post <(url="http://"http://www.evula.com")E(/url)(url="http://"http://www.evula.net")V(/url)(url="http://"http://www.evula.org")ula link(/url)>
(This message has been edited by SuperNova (edited 12-28-2003).)
Well. If you want to sign up for the beta then just send Carm an e-mail at carm@ambrosiasw.com I am kind of suprised at the lack of replies to this topic. Then again the bugs with PoG may not be as annoying as those with Coldstone itself.
------------------ Pilky (url="http://"http://www.mcubedsw.com")M cubed homepage(/url) (url="http://"http://www.coldstonerc.cjb.net")Coldstone Resource Centre(/url) Cheesiest film line of all time "Flash I love you but we only have 14 hours to save the earth" from Flash Gorden
Originally posted by Pilky: **. . the bugs with PoG may not be as annoying as those with Coldstone itself. **
The point, Pilky, is that PoG works. It doesn't crash. It is riddled with errors in text. There are access problems (meaning walking over trees and under rocks) but the game is playable and thousands of players have done so. We would like it to be better.
Originally posted by megah: . . and fix the fergus dialog box. i hate that "i would like to buy you food or potions" line...
You would fix one error (I hate that line too) but perpetrate another. The man's name is Fungus, not "fergus." If accuracy is desired in the game, it is imperative in the reporting of errata.
(url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/webboard/Forum61/HTML/001379.html#")This topic(/url) which was created by Thunderforge some time ago, lists a good amount of bugs and typos. Just thought I would bring that up.
------------------ (url="http://"http://www.lordofthecows.com/ambrosiamemberstonight/")Ambrosia Members Tonight!(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.lordofthecows.com/music/board_members/spamguy/moderatorsong.mp3")The Moderator Song(/url) / (url="http://"http://www.lordofthecows.com/music/board_members/evula/evula.mp3")EVula(/url) / (url="http://"http://www.evula.com/")The real EVula.com(/url) Jingle Bells, Windoze smells, (url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/webboard/Forum61/HTML/001202.html")The Blue Mushroom Pub(/url) rocks (all 25+ pages worth)! How are you gentlemen!! (url="http://"http://www.allyourbasearebelongtous.com")All your base are belong to us!(/url) You are on ze way to destruction. You will have no chance to survive make your time...Mwa ha ha ha... -ZeroWing CATS, (url="http://"http://www.planettribes.com/allyourbase/")All your Base(/url)
Thank you LifeKnight for bringing that up. I already posted the link on the Coldstone board though. A few other bugs that are not listed in there are:
Just for PoG: -In the cave with the Elven Bow of Destruction, the "Hey, Heldan's hat really works" dialog box appears if you have the hat in your inventory, not if you are actually wearing it -A discrepancy as to whether Cyclops or Cyklops is the correct spelling for that creature (I think that most of us agree that Cyclops should be the correct spelling) -On Level 1 of the Learning Tree, when you first talk to the creature know-it-all, the response "Yes, Mellissa, I would like to learn about creatures" (or something similar) doesn't do anything (or does something wrong, I can't remember right now). -You are not required to talk to William before recovering Emilius' book. As a result, after you get it, William thanks you for making the townspeople listen to him, even if you didn't talk to him before. -Even after you have recovered the Mil'karas shield, you can still ask the blacksmiths about it. -Sometimes, after searching for an item in the Learning Tree, you will get one message stating that the item can be found on another level of the Learning Tree, and then a second message saying that you cannot find the item anywhere in the books
PoG bugs that could be considered nitpicks: -Some of the tunnel entrances are sealed with boards and others aren't. I think they should all be sealed, just like the man in Fantrima says they are. -The screen two screens left of Fantrima is blocked for unregistered users. But is there really any reason? There are only ookwasps and goblins on that map, and it does not lead to any others. -Morgo's termite farm doesn't do anything (except make a messenger next to the Mage's Tower who is lost on his way to Gidolan Keep). I ask you to either make him do something besides drain your coffer or take him out of the game. -On Morgo's map, there is a sign in the middle of the trees.
Bugs pertaining to Trinity: -The "Luck Infusion" potion adds 50 luck instead of 5 (it's rather useful this way :)) -If a ranger has shape-shifted, then before changing back saved and quit, the ranger is stuck as the animal he shape-shifted into
Originally posted by Thunderforge: the "Hey, Heldan's hat really works" dialog box . . .
Also comes up in the Reef's Island cave and the approach to the Guardian cave if the hat is in inventory and this is your first encounter with mindhunters. What I am not sure of is whether or not the protection exists if the hat is in inventory rather than on the head. I know what the stats list says, but I've never had problems with the mindhunters when the hat was in inventory.
**-A discrepancy as to whether Cyclops or Cyklops is the correct spelling . . . **
From The Reader's Digest Great Enclyclopedic Dictionary: singular - cyclops {pronounced SIGH•klops plural - cyclopes {pronounced sigh•KLO•peas
-The screen two screens left of Fantrima is blocked for unregistered users. But is there really any reason? . . .
The reason I see is that on the other side of the river is forbidden area. It's no big deal either way because you don't know what's there until you register anyway.
**-Morgo's termite farm doesn't do anything (except make a messenger next to the Mage's Tower who is lost on his way to Gidolan Keep). I ask you to either make him do something besides drain your coffer or take him out of the game. **
You would probably also want to take the Drop Bears out of EVN. I think it's just one of those "lessons of life." Leave it be.
Originally posted by Rubber Ducky: You would probably also want to take the Drop Bears out of EVN.:) I think it's just one of those "lessons of life." Leave it be.
I see your point, but the problem is that the player must choose the response to have it delivered to Gidolan Keep. When I first played, I hesitated when Morgo asked me where I lived, since I knew that I could not enter Gidolan Keep. I was furious that I was forced to tell him to deliver it to Gidolan Keep instead of have it sent to Fantrima or some other city instead. The difference with the Drop Bears is that it isn't your character's fault that you lost money. Now if Morgo were an evil salesman and the selling of termites were really scams (and the game reflected that), then I think that he should stay in the game.
Originally posted by Thunderforge: -The screen two screens left of Fantrima is blocked for unregistered users. But is there really any reason?
There is a simple explaination for why this was done. In version 1.0.0 the square was NOT blocked. When version 1.0.1 came out, the square WAS blocked for unregistered users. Why? Simple. The part of the Garendall map accessable to unregistered users is a perfect rectangle. The area accessable stopped at a particular line; the western line was two squares west from the 'Fantrima' collumn. Thus, anything two squares west from the vertical Fantrima squares was blocked. I assume they just wanted to correct this small inaccuracy.
-On Morgo's map, there is a sign in the middle of the trees.
Trinity bug. The sign just needs to be moved north about 50 squares.
If Morgo were an evil salesman and the selling of termites were really scams (and the game reflected that), then I think that he should stay in the game.
The woman in Nohgra village calls Morgo, "My foul little brother." So yes, it seems you are correct.
-A discrepancy as to whether Cyclops or Cyklops is the correct spelling . .
It's spelled 'Cyclops' in mythology. It's spelled 'Cyklops' in PoG. It seems to have been this way since the game was created. I don't think this is really a bug.
I have a few more bugs to add to the list:
Coldstone Bugs:
-- A VERY annyoing bug that turned up when I updated to 1.0.1, was that the Map Editor cannot be brought to the front (at least in OS X); it always stays in the back, making it very hard to work. This also seems to happen with the animation editor. -- In OS X, generating a map preview crashes the game. -- Altough this might have been answered before, whenever I create a map, it appears all pixelated in the game, the map preview doesn't work, the game buttons don't work, and scrolling is ugly.
PoG bugs n' new features that would be cool:
-- The town of Dernath is useless (without Spells Expander and WoC) once you have cleared the Cyklops and warned the garrison. Of course, my Dernath Merchant plugin fixes that, but it would be cool to have this included in the game (you have my permission to consolidate the plugin into the game if you want, as the source is included). -- When the Damsels in Distress plugin is active, all the goblins in the game get 2x-3x as hard. This makes it nearly impossible for the conjurer (or ranger) to get out of town to the north with the plugin active. This could be fixed by RD changing the NCP name of his goblin, or the name of the PoG goblin being changed. -- It would be nice if the two unused NCPs (Ice Imp and Vorkt) could be inserted into the (standard) game at some point, and having descriptions in the Learning Tree. -- When you kill Decimus the DeathKnight (the opposite of a LifeKnight, heh heh), it says "The remaining Ghouls burn down to ashes". However, the Ghouls do not actually disappear if one is close enough to see it, and they are still there if you come back later. Probably just me nitpicking, but this would be more 'correct' if they disappeared. -- If the Litlith shield is the standard shield used by Liliths, they seem to drop them far too infrequently. -- The game could benefit from a few more maps and places to explore. If you look at Stark PoG DevToolz map, you can see that there are plenty of maps that are unreachable. While the game doesn't NEED this, it would be cool if there were a few more maps and caves to explore. -- Neither Spells Expander nor Trinity includes a spell that lets you view the overhead screen as an eagle eye does. It would be incredibly useful if such a spell existed. -- More items in the guilds?
I would be more than happy to be a PoG beta-tester, but my...damn...modem (hits modem) is a bit slow to be downloading huge beta files, and the update itself. Perhaps by the time you are ready to beta, my family will have DSL.
-------------------- It seems to me that IRC is a lot less friendly than the boards, LifeKnight
-Divals
-- When the Damsels in Distress plugin is active, all the goblins in the game get 2x-3x as hard. This makes it nearly impossible for the conjurer (or ranger) to get out of town to the north with the plugin active. This could be fixed by RD changing the NCP name of his goblin, or the name of the PoG goblin being changed.
All the more experience for young characters.
-- It would be nice if the two unused NCPs (Ice Imp and Vorkt) could be inserted into the (standard) game at some point, and having descriptions in the Learning Tree.
They mention Vorkt at one point, you know.
-- When you kill Decimus the DeathKnight (the opposite of a LifeKnight, heh heh) , it says "The remaining Ghouls burn down to ashes". However, the Ghouls do not actually disappear if one is close enough to see it, and they are still there if you come back later. Probably just me nitpicking, but this would be more 'correct' if they disappeared.
Well, now you mention it, I can se little difference...
-- If the Litlith shield is the standard shield used by Liliths, they seem to drop them far too infrequently.
It is the most powerful shield in the game.
-- Neither Spells Expander nor Trinity includes a spell that lets you view the overhead screen as an eagle eye does. It would be incredibly useful if such a spell existed.
I can fix that.
-- More items in the guilds?
Agreed
------------------ Vast__ QUOTE "All games die eventually except for Starcraft which will live forever..." Long Live Ares, Starcraft, Uplink and Cythera!
Originally posted by LifeKnight: Coldstone Bugs: -- Altough this might have been answered before, whenever I create a map, it appears all pixelated in the game, the map preview doesn't work, the game buttons don't work, and scrolling is ugly.
First off, Coldstone bugs belong on the Coldstone board, not here. Secondly, this is not a bug but rather an end-user error. Your ground tiles are not set right. Fix them and the problem goes away.
Originally posted by LifeKnight: -- When the Damsels in Distress plugin is active, all the goblins in the game get 2x-3x as hard. This makes it nearly impossible for the conjurer (or ranger) to get out of town to the north with the plugin active. This could be fixed by RD changing the NCP name of his goblin, or the name of the PoG goblin being changed.
Again, not a PoG bug. Since the action in DiD doesn't start until you have helped build the bridge by killing off the ten Ookwasps, a simple solution would be to activate the plugin after the bridge is in place. By then, you won't notice the difference from one goblin to the other. But there is an even easier fix which would be in the next version if there is ever a need for it. I just took the goblin out of my list of NPCs and now, when the engine calls for a goblin, one of the original goblins is placed on the map. This is not serious enough to warrant uploading a new version.
Originally posted by Rubber Ducky: The web board member, Glenn, probably has the most complete list of PoG errors and I'm sure many others of us can provide additions to your work load.
I'm flattered, but I think you're exaggerating more than a little bit. My (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/glennfield/ColdstoneBugs.html")bug list(/url) is oriented towards Coldstone more than PoG, and I haven't updated it in well over a year. I know for a fact that there are bugs that have been discovered since then. I suspect many here can tell you a lot more about bugs in PoG than I can.
On the other hand, if you're talking about my e-mails back from when PoG/Coldstone were still in pre-release beta, regarding the legions of typos in PoG, you may be right. I could give even RD a run for his money as "Defender of the English Language", I suspect.
------------------ "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke (attributed)
I've found but trinity bugs here, not sure if you are doing anything about them, but just for the heck of it--
These have to do with conjurors. When you find Gewin as a conjuror, he says he may have some things for you, yet when you ask to see them, nothing happens.
In the magic tower, the glowing portal sends you to the maze, and the other sends you to the top. You can skip the maze and choose the other portal without ever going through it, and still get the experiance for "figuring out the mystery". Rather silly to me.
------------------ Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordian. "You're dumb." -Rawzer to whitedevil, whitedevil2, Ory 'hara, and poger825.
Originally posted by SlaVitiCkus: When you find Gewin as a conjuror, he says he may have some things for you, yet when you ask to see them, nothing happens.
I don't know what you did with your conjurer, but when I ask Gewin to show me what he has the shop opens up as it should.
Originally posted by SlaVitiCkus: In the magic tower, the glowing portal sends you to the maze, and the other sends you to the top. You can skip the maze and choose the other portal without ever going through it, and still get the experiance for "figuring out the mystery". Rather silly to me.
If you go in as a first-time conjurer, the portal on the right is grayed out. It does not become active until you have solved all four puzzles. You must have gone there with a character who has already solved the puzzles in some earlier game, in which case the global is set to take you to the top.
Neither of these are Trinity bugs, but rather end-user bugs. ~RD
P.S. I just double checked both of these with a new conjurer. I suggest you do so as well. We can't be squashing bugs that don't exist.